Esta tese trata dos ambientes coletivos dos condomínios horizontais e dos loteamentos fechados construídos a partir de 1990 na cidade de Londrina Pr. Busca descobrir quais as necessidades dos usuários (moradores) e, a partir da avaliação de desempenho físico e de satisfação do usuário voltada aos ambientes construídos e de uso coletivo, com ênfase nos aspectos social, funcional, segurança, durabilidade e manutenabilidade, formula procedimentos metodológicos de desempenho de avaliação para dar suporte na definição de programas de necessidades para futuros empreendimentos similares. Propõe um modelo metodológico que encontra suporte no Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) para hierarquizar os atributos e as alternativas que influenciam nas decisões de projeto (critérios e subcritérios) e cuja calibragem do modelo se dá por meio da Avaliação Pós-Ocupação (APO), envolvendo os pontos de vista dos moradores, dos administradores ou síndicos, dos autores dos projetos destes empreendimentos, além dos levantamentos in loco realizado pelo pesquisador. / ABSTRACT This thesis deals with collective environments of gated communities and plots which started being built in 1990 in the city of Londrina-PR. It searches for finding out the needs of the users (residents) and, from the evaluation of their physical performance and satisfaction regarding the built and collective environments, with special emphasis on social, functional, safety, durability and maintenance aspects, conceives the methodological procedures of performance evaluation to support the definition of programs of needs for future similar developments. It proposes a methodological model supported by the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to form as a hierarchy the attributes and the alternatives which have influence on the design decisions (criteria and sub-criteria), whose calibration of the proposed methodological model took place through the Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE), involving the viewpoints from the residents, the administrators or syndics and architects, besides the surveys in loco carried out by this researcher.

Esta tese trata dos ambientes coletivos dos condomínios horizontais e dos loteamentos fechados construídos a partir de 1990 na cidade de Londrina Pr. Busca descobrir quais as necessidades dos usuários (moradores) e, a partir da avaliação de desempenho físico e de satisfação do usuário voltada aos ambientes construídos e de uso coletivo, com ênfase nos aspectos social, funcional, segurança, durabilidade e manutenabilidade, formula procedimentos metodológicos de desempenho de avaliação para dar suporte na definição de programas de necessidades para futuros empreendimentos similares. Propõe um modelo metodológico que encontra suporte no Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) para hierarquizar os atributos e as alternativas que influenciam nas decisões de projeto (critérios e subcritérios) e cuja calibragem do modelo se dá por meio da Avaliação Pós-Ocupação (APO), envolvendo os pontos de vista dos moradores, dos administradores ou síndicos, dos autores dos projetos destes empreendimentos, além dos levantamentos in loco realizado pelo pesquisador. / ABSTRACT This thesis deals with collective environments of gated communities and plots which started being built in 1990 in the city of Londrina-PR. It searches for finding out the needs of the users (residents) and, from the evaluation of their physical performance and satisfaction regarding the built and collective environments, with special emphasis on social, functional, safety, durability and maintenance aspects, conceives the methodological procedures of performance evaluation to support the definition of programs of needs for future similar developments. It proposes a methodological model supported by the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to form as a hierarchy the attributes and the alternatives which have influence on the design decisions (criteria and sub-criteria), whose calibration of the proposed methodological model took place through the Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE), involving the viewpoints from the residents, the administrators or syndics and architects, besides the surveys in loco carried out by this researcher.

Yu Wai Ching. / "Architecture Department, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Master of Architecture Programme 2007-2008, design report." / Includes bibliographical references (p. 204-206). / Thesis Statement --- p.5 / Study Method --- p.9 / "Phenomenon, Principle & Appearance" --- p.11 / Study Area --- p.15 / Precedent study --- p.17 / Chapter - --- Chinese character --- p.19 / Chapter - --- Platonic solid --- p.35 / Chapter - --- Crystal --- p.43 / Architectural example study --- p.59 / Chapter - --- Phenomenon - simple but interesting subdivision --- p.61 / Chapter - --- Principle - subdivision --- p.71 / Chapter - --- envelope arrangment --- p.115 / Chapter - --- opening --- p.127 / Chapter - --- space extension --- p.135 / Chapter - --- Reading examples with principles --- p.145 / Testing on site --- p.155 / Site context --- p.157 / Site planning --- p.163 / Testing on village houses --- p.177 / Housing types --- p.179 / Floor units --- p.183 / House unit --- p.189 / Bibliography --- p.203

Achieving appropriate and natural backchanneling behavior in social robots remains a challenge in Human-Robot Interaction (HRI). This thesis addresses this issue by utilizing methods from Safe Reinforcement Learning in particular shielding to improve social robot backchanneling behavior. The aim of the study is to develop and implement a safety shield that guarantees appropriate backchanneling. In order to achieve that, a Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) is trained on a human-human conversational dataset. Two agents are built; one uses a random algorithm to backchannel and another uses shields on top of its algorithm. The two agents are tested using a recorded human audio, and later evaluated in a between-subject user study with 41 participants. The results did not show any statistical significance between the two conditions, for the chosen significance level of α < 0.05. However, we observe that the agent with shield had a better listening behavior, more appropriate backchanneling behavior and missed less backchanneling opportunities than the agent without shields. This could indicate that shields have a positive impact on the robot’s behavior. We discuss potential explanations for why we did not obtain statistical significance and shed light on the potential for further exploration. / Att uppnå lämpligt och naturligt upbbackningsbeteende i sociala robotar är fortfarande en utmaning i Människa-Robot Interaktion (MRI). Den här avhandlingen tar upp detta problem genom att använda metoder från säker förstärkningsinlärning i synnerhet avskärmning för att förbättra sociala robotars upbbackningsbeteende. Syftet med studien är att utveckla och implementera en säkerhetsavskärmning som garanterar lämplig upbbackning. För att uppnå det, tränas ett återkommande neuralt nätverk på en människa-människa konversationsdatamängd. Två agenter byggs; en använder en slumpmässig algoritm för att upbbacka och en annan använder avskärmninng ovanpå sin algoritm. De två agenterna testas med hjälp av ett inspelat mänskligt ljud och utvärderas senare i en användarstudie med 41 deltagare. Resultaten visade inte någon statistisk signifikans mellan de två skicken, för den valda signifikansnivån < 0, 05. Vi observerar dock att agenten med avskärmning hade ett bättre lyssningsbeteende, mer lämplig upbbackningsbeteende och missade mindre upbbacknings-möjligheter än agenten utan avskärmning. Detta kan indikera att avskärmning har en positiv inverkan på robotarnas beteende. Vi diskuterar potentiella förklaringar till varför vi inte fick statistisk signifikans och belyser potentialen för ytterligare utforskning.

Master of Regional and Community Planning / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Larry L. Lawhon / Gated communities are a growing residential phenomenon in the United States with almost ten percent of households living in gated communities in 2005 (Knox, 2008; Census, 2005). In this study “gated communities” are defined, according to Low (2003), as a residential neighborhood with walls and gates surrounding the development, which excludes non-residents access to all interior amenities including residences, open space, and activities. People are seeking life behind a gate for many reasons, but include the search for security, safety, privacy, prestige, exclusivity, control, and community (Blakely & Snyder, 1999). As this style of development is expanding and as all socio-economic groups want to live in gated communities, cities are beginning to realize gated communities affect all members of the community, not just the ones secluded behind the gate (El Nasser, 2002). After reviewing literature, the author found, the generally accepted social implications and consequences resulting from gated communities were identified as social segregation, loss of community, and division; although, there were also positive results for some people living within gated communities. This report, through a case study format, investigated if the social implications of gated communities are considered during the development review process. Rockwood Falls Estates and Meadows is a suburban gated community and the surrounding local governments, Johnson County and Overland Park, were the object of the case study. The author concluded that gated communities have benefits and concerns. Further, the author found that gated communities can be effectively controlled if the local governments have adopted specific policies dealing with gated communities and implement this policy through specific design review procedures.

Enzymes are ubiquitous in biological systems. They catalyze chemical reactions and are involved in many biochemical processes. The enzyme of interest is Pseudomonas aeruginosa D-arginine dehydrogenase (PaDADH). This flavin-dependent enzyme is composed of approximately 375 amino acid residues and has a broad substrate specificity with D-amino acids. A water recognition motif, observed in roughly 1200 non-redundant protein data bank (PDB) structures, was revealed to be embedded near the active site of PaDADH. This motif coincides with the conformational changes of the enzyme’s gated mechanism. Molecular dynamics simulations were carried out to study the gated properties and structural characteristics of PaDADH in solution. Single amino acid mutations were undertaken to further understand the dynamics of the gated mechanism of this enzyme. In addition, pKa,shift analyses were evaluated to probe for the basic catalytic amino acid residue that is suggested to trigger the catalytic mechanism of PaDADH.

Cette thèse porte sur les modèles génératifs en apprentissage automatique. Deux nouveaux modèles basés sur les réseaux de neurones y sont proposés. Le premier modèle possède une représentation interne où une certaine structure a été imposée afin d’ordonner les caractéristiques apprises. Le deuxième modèle parvient à exploiter la structure topologique des données observées, et d’en tenir compte lors de la phase générative. Cette thèse présente également une des premières applications de l’apprentissage automatique au problème de la tractographie du cerveau. Pour ce faire, un réseau de neurones récurrent est appliqué à des données de diffusion afin d’obtenir une représentation des fibres de la matière blanche sous forme de séquences de points en trois dimensions.

Sulfatide is a galactolipid and a major lipid component of the myelin sheath. Its production is catalyzed by the enzyme cerebroside sulfotransferase (CST). To determine the functions of sulfatide, the gene encoding CST was genetically disrupted resulting in mice incapable of sulfatide synthesis. Using these mice, it has been shown in the central nervous system (CNS) that sulfatide is essential for normal myelin synthesis and stability even though the onset of myelination is not impaired. Additionally, proper initial clustering of paranodal proteins and cluster maintenance of nodal proteins is impaired suggesting that paranodal domains are important for long-term node stability. In contrast to the CNS, a requirement for sulfatide in the initiation of myelination, and in initiation of paranodal and nodal clustering or in the long-term maintenance of these clusters in the peripheral nervous system (PNS) has not been analyzed. Therefore, we have employed a combination of electron microscopic, immunocytochemical, and confocal microscopic analyses of the CST KO mice to determine the role of sulfatide in PNS myelination and onset of protein domain formation and maintenance. For these studies we have quantified myelin thickness, paranodal structural integrity, and the number of paranodal and nodal protein clusters in the CST KO and wild type mice at 4 days, 7 days, and 10 months of age. Our findings indicate that myelination onset is not delayed in the absence of sulfatide and that both the node and paranode are grossly normal; however, closer analysis reveals that paranodal junctions are compromised, Schwann cell microvilli are disoriented and the myelin-axon interface along the internodal region is transiently disrupted. In addition, we report that the paranodal myelin protein neurofascin 155 (Nfasc155) shows a transient decrease in initial clustering in the CST null mice at 4 days of age that is restored to WT levels by 7 days of age that is also maintained in the adult mice. Whereas nodal clustering of neuronal voltage-gated sodium channels is initially normal, cluster number is significantly but also transiently reduced by 7 days of age. By 10 months of age, the number of sodium channel clusters is restored to normal levels. In contrast, clustering of neither the paranodal neuronal protein contactin nor the myelin nodal protein gliomedin is altered at any of the ages studied. Together our findings suggest that sulfatide is not essential for PNS myelination or for protein domain formation in contrast to its more vital role in the development and maintenance of the CNS.

Amphetamine (AMPH) and its derivatives embody a remarkable breadth of pharmacology. These molecules exert their effects, both therapeutic and pathological, at the human monoamine transporters, which tune synaptic dynamics by evacuating monoamine neuromodulators from the synapse subsequent to neuronal impulses. These transporters are electrogenic, and the transporter-mediated current can be correlated to a surrogate measure of the change in membrane voltage: Ca++ currents from co-transfected L-type Ca++ channels. The present work makes use of this assay, with which it is possible to derive pharmacodynamic metrics from both substrates and inhibitors. This work presents data on a heretofore-unstudied class of amphetamine analogs: the enantiomers of N-Me 4-Me AMPH and N-Et 4-Me AMPH. Remarkably, while both enantiomers of the N-Me version of this compound function as substrates at hDAT, both enantiomers of the N-Et version are inhibitors. This switch does not occur at hNET, where all enantiomers of both N-Me and N-Et 4-Me AMPH function as substrates. Further, (S)-N-Et 4-Me AMPH is a substrate at dDAT. EC50 and IC50 values for all drugs at both transporters are presented. I present the results of super-resolution microscopic co-localization studies on the plasmalemmal spatial relation of the human dopamine transporter and voltage gated calcium channel, L-type 1.2 (CaV1.2). I discuss future aims toward a unified understanding of the mechanisms of monoamine transporter function, with an emphasis on what amphetamine can illuminate in this regard.

Os condomínios e loteamentos fechados constituem um fenômeno urbano que vem se espalhando por todas as metrópoles brasileiras. Desde o final dos anos 1980, podemos observar um grande aumento no número de condomínios fechados dentro da Região Metropolitana de São Paulo (RMSP). Os condomínios e loteamentos fechados, antes destinados à moradia da classe alta e localizados em grandes áreas das zonas periféricas da RMSP, atualmente atendem outras classes sociais e possuem características bastante distintas (tamanho da gleba, unidade habitacional, serviços coletivos). A preocupação com conforto foi suplantada pela necessidade de segurança e pelo status. A proliferação desses loteamentos e condomínios fechados nos últimos quinze anos vem modificando a configuração espacial de algumas áreas da Região Metropolitana. Segundo alguns autores, o padrão centro rico versus periferia pobre, que caracterizou os estudos sobre a RMSP, entre os anos 1940 e 1980, alterou-se na última década para um modelo fractal de segregação. Esta Tese pretende verificar a pertinência do novo modelo fractal de segregação espacial, tomando como referência os condomínios horizontais residenciais fechados, e mostrar, a partir de levantamento realizado na Região Metropolitana de São Paulo, que parte das premissas relativas aos condomínios fechados não são absolutas. / Gated communities constitute an urban phenomenon that is nowadays spreading all over the Brazilian metropolis. Since the 1980s, we can observe an increasing number of gated communities within the São Paulo Metropolitan Area (SPMA). The gated communities, initially located at suburban areas and used by upper classes, at the present time serve other social classes and have new and distinct characteristics (size and location, houses sizes, services at the collective areas, etc). The initial concerning to comfort was substituted by the need of security and possibly the search for status. This Thesis analyses if the new fractal pattern of spatial segregation has overlapped the rich center X poor suburbia pattern that characterized the SPMA between 1940 and 1980, using the gated communities as case studies. And also pretends to demonstrate that part of the premises about gated communities is not absolute.